Asahan, Tanjungbalai, and Labura Free of People with Mental Illness
The Provincial Government of North Sumatra (Pemprov) is focusing on three regions – the Asahan Regency, the city of Tanjungbalai, and the North Labuhanbatu (Labura) Regency – to create a ‘chain-free’ zone for people with mental illnesses.
This program aims to accelerate the treatment of people with mental illnesses and to eradicate the practice of tying up, which still occurs in the community.
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The Director of the Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ildrem Psychiatric Hospital (RSJ) in North Sumatra, Sri Suriani Purnamawati, stated that teams will visit the regions this week to treat people with mental illnesses who are still being tied up by their families.
“This week, we are attempting to visit the regions to meet the needs of people with mental illnesses or ODGJ who are chained up by their families. Until now, they were chained up to prevent them from disrupting the community or being a burden, although this is prohibited and unjustified,” said Sri during a press conference in the Dekranasda lobby of the North Sumatra Governor’s office in Medan.
Sri explained that the program to abolish the chains is supported by a special transport service that picks up and drops off patients with mental illnesses (ODGJ) at the Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ildrem Psychiatric Hospital.
Afterwards, the patients participate in a psychosocial rehabilitation program or “day care” to promote their independence. This program is implemented in collaboration with the Medan Haji General Hospital and various regional public hospitals in the districts/cities.
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“Psychosocial rehabilitation is important for ODGJ because it focuses on shaping their daily habits and activities. This is a strategy for the patient’s independence. That is why we offer this service, where patients are dropped off in the morning and picked up by their families in the afternoon,” said Sri.
According to her, the shuttle service presents a challenge because ODGJ patients cannot use public transport and ambulances incur costs.
To address these challenges, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ildrem Psychiatric Hospital, in collaboration with the National Zakat Agency (Baznas), has established a Zakat Collection Unit (UPZ) to manage zakat, infaq, and alms, and to support the purchase of operational vehicles.
“This collaboration makes the day care program more comprehensive, and the community feels at ease when their family members with mental health issues are picked up and dropped off. Currently, there is only one car, but we continue to accept donations; hopefully, the number of vehicles can be expanded,” he said.
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During the day care program, patients participate in various activities, such as spiritual guidance, Quran recitations, painting, and training in making dish soap, eco-enzymes, and carbolic acid. The patients’ work was also exhibited and sold at the booth of the Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ildrem Psychiatric Hospital at the 50th North Sumatra Fair (PRSU).
“We also offer training in growing vegetables such as kale and bok choy, and we teach them how to raise maggots. Because the psychiatric hospital has a food facility that produces organic waste, we raise maggots and keep 15 laying hens per cage,” he said.
Through the day care program, patients are expected to develop positive habits during 20 visits, enabling them to resume their daily activities and communicate with their families.
“The stigma that has existed for so long, namely that people with a mental illness are incapable of doing anything, is untrue. Mental illnesses do not change or reduce intelligence. Aggressive behavior and hallucinations can be suppressed with medication, allowing them to resume their activities,” Sri explained.
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In addition to the program for people without disabilities, the Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ildrem Psychiatric Hospital will also implement a program for the early detection of mental health problems in schoolchildren. This initiative aims to identify people with mental health problems early on, so that treatment, including therapy, can be started sooner.
“Children and adolescents experiencing mental health problems, for example due to the heavy burden of school, can come to the psychiatric hospital for direct care from a psychiatrist specializing in children and adolescents,” said Sri. ***REL
